Sunday, January 25, 2015

Fandom, Fandoms EVERYwhere!

Do you find your heart getting broken on at least a weekly basis by characters that don't even exist except as the fictional spawn of some evil writer's mind? Who do you 'ship'? Likewise who's your OTP? Are you stuck in a glass case of emotion due to the feels in last week's Supernatural?




Totally lost yet?

If you're under 30, probably not. If you're over 30ish, you might be scratching your head just now.






I, however, who will be 42(Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, don't ya know) tomorrow, am a proud 'fangirl' and equally proud member of many fandoms. 


Per the ever knowledgable Wikipedia; 

Fandom - is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the object(s) of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices 

A fandom can grow up centered on any area of human interest or activity...., the term has its roots in those with an enthusiastic appreciation for sports. Merriam-Webster's dictionary traces the usage of the term back as far as 1903.[1]

Fandom as a term can also be used in a broad sense to refer to the interconnected social networks of individual fandoms, many of which overlap.

Wow, 1903? Seriously? Sounds like the Doctor's work. :)

You might also find this link helpful. 

sincere-guide-tumblr-slang

Now, while I have a tumblr account, I haven't signed into it in at least six months or more. I do find tumblr a little 'young', but that hardly means I don't love a good deal of the same shows. If you are still one of those who shrugs televison off as shallow and nasty, where have you been for the last 15 years?!?!

TV is now so much better than movies, I barely see the reason to hit the theatre anymore(The Marvel series and anything starring Martin Freeman is an obvious exception to this rule). There are literally too many excellent shows around to possibly keep up with(unless you are a teenager, living at home, with no dreams of college) or you have a serious Red Bull habit. 

You need to come out from under your rock check out AMC, HBO, FX, CW and BBC. Let's lift the curtain and give you a glimpse of what you're missing:

The worst (best?) offender has to be BBC. Airing both Doctor Who and (occasionally, every 3 years or so) Sherlock, it has to claim the crown for most rabid fandoms by virtue of those 2 shows alone. 



Easy there, Grandma. 
DOCTOR WHO



The story of a time-traveling alien, courtesy of his sentient ship, (not to be confused with the 'ship' as used above) the TARDIS(T.ime A.nd R.elative D.imension I.n S.pace) that looks like a 1950s London phonebox. (it got stuck, okay?)

The Doctor has two hearts, a revolving door of 'companions' and the ability to regenerate at the point of death into new characters(possibly the most brilliant plot twist ever conceived of). 

I have a vague memory of watching a few of these shows as a pre-teen, around Colin Baker's era as the 6th Doctor in the 80s. 

I got drawn into 'newWho' about 2 years ago. Now, Doctor Who has been on television since the 60s, in various reincarnations. newWho refers to the era started in 2005 by Russell T. Davies.(the creator of the spin-off show; Torchwood-the title itself an anagram for Doctor Who, which sits neglected on my to-be-watched-when-I-have-time-to-breathe list)

It was most def NOT love at first sight. My kids and I tried, over the course of a YEAR, to get into the show. But the godawful visual effects and cheesy scripts were, to put it politely, a bit of a deterrent. 




I was honestly becoming worried about the mental state of the friends who kept insisting that show was SO wonderful. 




However, as more and more friends admitted to loving this madness, we decided to try...and try again. After suffering through the first two episodes, some hope was given with Episode 3, 'The Unquiet Dead' featuring a story line using Charles Dickens. It wasn't bad, certainly not great, but ok. We carried on.

By 'Dalek' (Ep.6) I was thinking, 'yeah, I could like this. Maybe.'

Then came the stunning brilliance of Ep. 9, 'The Empty Child'. And we've been lost ever since, sucked into the Whovian vortex. It is a show that gets its claws into your heart, then gleefully rips it out by the roots, stomps all over it, shoves it back in your chest to start CPR just so it can do it all over again.




I bless those crazy friends everyday for their persistence. Doctor Who is magical and if you haven't experienced it, your life is poorer for its abscence.





SHERLOCK 

Created by Stephen Moffat(who wrote many of the most beloved episodes of Doctor Who and is now at the helm of that enterprise) and Mark Gatiss(who starred in a Doctor Who episode and wrote a few-besides also starring as a major character in Sherlock--the BBC is very incestous, FYI), Sherlock is of course, the latest(and IMO, greatest) incarnation of the beloved Sir Arthur Conan Doyle detective.

Brilliantly written(at least the first two seasons, and much of season 3) Sherlock follows a somewhat different character take than the norm. Besides taking the 'science of deduction' to almost mythical proportions, this Sherlock is like nothing you've ever seen before.



Despite the knockout performance by Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, it is Martin Freeman's John Watson who repeatedly blows me away. The nuances and depth he brings to the character and the relationship between the two is....beyond words. Both heart-breaking and funny as hell.







And the cliffhanger at the end of season 2? 



Just let me say, you'll never see it coming and you'll never get over it. Amazing supporting characters (like Irishman Andrew Scott as Jim Moriatry, the poignant Louise Brealey as Molly and the divine Amanda Abbington as Mary Watson(incidently Martin Freeman's other half in the real world.) 

Also Rupert Graves as Dectective Inspector Lestrade is dynamite, as he was in his role as a big game hunter in Doctor Who. (incestous BBC, I told you.) Don't get too attached to anyone, when Moffat's writing, though. Fair warning.

In fact, I believe, anyone who has watched Doctor Who or Sherlock has felt at least a brief, burning desire to stab Stephen Moffat in the eye once or twice — or you're not a true fan. (I'm saving a dissection of Moffat for another blog, grr!). He is a heartless, sometimes sloppy-as-hell, but undeniably gifted writer. This series proves it like no other.

Probably one of the best things ever written for TV. Argue as you will...

SUPERNATURAL

I am a late-comer to this fandom, even though it ranks as part of the both broader and narrower fandom known as Super-Who-Lock




which, if you're remotely clever, you will realize means that rare breed who is obsessed with all three shows; Doctor Who, Sherlock and Supernatural.

Supernatural is the story of brothers, Dean and Sam Winchester and their family's long and bloody history with, you guessed it, the supernatural. Since the murder of their mother, in baby Sammy's nursery years ago, the Winchester family has been hunting demons and other monsters, looking to help people who otherwise would have no where to turn, and also to find answers to their own family's murder mystery.

Until brilliant and bookish Sam, never satisified with this status quo, bucks his father's wishes and accepts a full ride to Sanford and tries to pursue a normal life.



This doesn't work out for Sam when Dean shows back up, to tell him their father is missing. Another horrific murder occurs and soon Dean and Sam are on an endless road trip to find their father, fighting demons and monsters and ghosties along the way.

The best thing about this show so far to me is the relationship between the brothers. I honestly expected to crush heavily on the side of Sam(on looks alone, forgive my shallowness, lol), but within two episodes I was firmly locked on Team Dean. 

There is something about Jenson Ackles' smart-assed, wise-cracking yet emotionally nuanced performance that is totally irresistable. 




But this show is about more than the (admittedly, delectable) beefcake. Killer plot twists, intriguing monsters and a lot of heart, not to mention a fair amount of sass and fun cheesiness. One of my fave goofy things Dean does is their fake names. The brothers are constantly impersonating FBI, DEA, ATF and etc., other agents or professional figures in their travels. Dean always comes up with the names.

One episode it's Agents Ford and Hamill, the next it's Reverends Simmons and Frehley. Call me a goofy rocker chic/nerd child of the 80s, but it makes me giggle everytime. Don't be fooled though, this can be one hell of a scary show. And a violent one. 

We are just finishing up Season One and I am utterly delighted to have 10 seasons in front of us to wallow in. My son informs me we cannot consider ourselves Superwholocked until we finish Season 2, so after my minor surgery tomorrow(yes, I get surgery for my birthday, ain't it cool?) I will be binging heavily this week for my recovery. :D





Soooo, feel free to let me know, do you consider yourself part of any fandoms? Once Upon A Time, Grimm, Sleepy Hollow, Game of Thrones, etc? Are you Superwholocked? Who do you ship, if anyone? Personally, I ship Sherolly(Molly and Sherlock) but that's about it.

Also, how wonderful is it when you meet someone who shares your fandom? Doesn't just equate to this great emotional shorthand, where you just know you're going to adore that person, no matter what? lol




Any other great shows out there I should know about(no, please, have mercy---I already have a queue years long!)

Oh go ahead then, just maybe one or two.....





Sunday, January 18, 2015

Who Wants to Go to Ireland?

I have being dreaming of this my entire life.

Going to Ireland.

Okay, maybe not my ENTIRE life. I doubt my toddler self knew where the damn bathroom was, let alone the Emerald Isle, but don't be so damn literal.

The point is, the dream is closer than becoming reality than ever before. It's not set in stone yet, due to  health considerations I can't yet predict, but it is sneaking closer and closer. Spring Break, April 2015.

Shannon Airport. Oh please, oh please.

Why Ireland? Let me count the ways, lol.

The accent. Celtic punk. Green. The myths. Castles. The accent. Blue eyes. Horses. Irish tin whistles. Mist. Poetry. Guinness. Fairy rings. Jameson's.

Did I mention I am rather fond of the accent?

I think this all may have started for real when I starting reading Morgan Llywelyn's books. Lion of Ireland and the Pendragon Cycle series, then the phenomenal story of Cuchulainn, Red Branch. I'd already had a serious thing for the Arthurian cycle and myth, and thanks to her,  I became obsessed with Celtic myth as well.

Then there was the whole horses phase. I was, like about every girl child born in the 70s, seriously horse-mad. It didn't help my mother at the time was breaking horses and working at a horse ranch. I have a clear memory of a book about an Irish breeder with these amazing pictures, all that green, like velvet, with these white rocks spilling down.

This isn't it, but you get the idea.



Oh, and we can't forget the Eddie Rabbit song. Anyone even remember him? My mom loved him. I spent hours listening to this song


I also love Celtic music, most particularly Celtic punk. And then there's Dylan Moran, Liam Neeson and all those delicious Irish exports. 



You may wonder, after all this gushing, do I have any actually Irish lineage? Actually yes, though not nearly as much as I'd like, lol. My great-grandfather on my mother's side, William Aldrich, was born in Ireland and immigrated here as a teenager. Supposedly anyway. You never know about those old family tales. The geneology of that side of the family has never been thoroughly dug into, so hard to say for sure. 

I am more Scot and Swedish than anything else, and while I have a definite thing for Scotland, it is Ireland that calls to me more than anywhere else. 

Now I am not a total prat. I don't expect the Ireland of the Llywelyn books, or movies such as The Secret of Roan Inish, or even The Commitments. I am quite familar with what to expect of the Ireland of today and I know it's no fairytale. I don't care.

I just want to go. I want to drink a pint of Guinness in a Dublin pub, walk on the Giant's Causeway, stare down the Cliffs of Moher and listen to real Irish music. I want to go to all the places I've written about in my own books and put my fingers in the dirt and smell the grass.

My itinerary will be short, and unfornutately I just can't fit everything I want to in 9 days, but I am going to give it a whirl. My main places to hit are Lough Gur, Donegal, the afore-mentioned Cliffs of Moher and the Giant's Causeway. Then onto Dublin and a quick flight to the Isle of Man for a couple days to do research on my upcoming book(last of the Celtic Elementals series) Lightning In Sea.

What would be your can't miss places to visit in Ireland? 

Where would you go if you could pick anywhere in the world?